The researchers found that the ATG7 protein plays a key role in regulating metabolism and cell response to insulin. Based on its structure, scientists have developed a short Aap2 peptide capable of reproducing the beneficial effects of ATG7. Experiments have shown that the introduction of this molecule improves glucose uptake in mice with type I and type II diabetes.
The discovery was made by an international team of scientists led by Cao Liu, a professor at the Chinese Medical University in Shenyang, while studying the processes of autophagy, a system of cellular processing of damaged molecules. Experiments have shown that insulin activates the production of ATG7 in muscle cells, after which the protein affects the liver, increasing the removal of glucose from the blood; in diabetes, this mechanism is disrupted.
The Aap2 peptide created on the basis of these data made it possible to restore the disrupted metabolic cycle in laboratory animals, normalizing blood sugar levels and preventing the development of insulin resistance. According to the authors of the paper published in the journal PNAS, the results open up prospects for the development of new approaches to the treatment of diabetes.
